Vol. 36 No. NE-1 (2026): XXVIII Congreso Internacional en Ciencias Agrícolas
Artículos de investigación

Relationship between vegetation indices and forage biomass in sunflower in the Yaqui Valley, México

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  • ELCO HUMBERTO GARCIA BOLIVAR,
  • Marisol Galicia Juárez,
  • Vielka Jeanethe Castañeda-Bustos,
  • OCHOA ESPINOZA OCHOA ESPINOZA,
  • juan gabriel brigido morales,
  • Helio Adán García Mendívil
ELCO HUMBERTO GARCIA BOLIVAR Autonomous University of Baja California: Mexicali, Mexicali, MX

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Marisol Galicia Juárez Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Mexicali MX

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Vielka Jeanethe Castañeda-Bustos Autonomous University of Baja California: Mexicali, Mexicali, MX

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OCHOA ESPINOZA OCHOA ESPINOZA INIFAP: Coyoacán, Mexico City, MX

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juan gabriel brigido morales Autonomous University of Baja California: Mexicali, Mexicali, MX

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Helio Adán García Mendívil INIFAP: Coyoacán, Mexico City, MX

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Published 2026-09-23

Copyright (c) 2026 Elco Humberto García Bolívar, Marisol Galicia Juárez, Vielka Jeanethe Castañeda-Bustos, Xochilt Militza Ochoa Espinoza, Juan Gabriel Brigido Morales, Helio Adán García Mendívil

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

GARCIA BOLIVAR, E. H., Galicia Juárez, M., Castañeda-Bustos, V. J., OCHOA ESPINOZA, O. E., brigido morales, juan gabriel, & García Mendívil, H. A. (2026). Relationship between vegetation indices and forage biomass in sunflower in the Yaqui Valley, México. Acta Universitaria, 36(NE-1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.15174/au.2026.4908

Abstract

Traditional estimation of forage sunflower (Helianthus annuus L., var. Girafor) yield is costly and destructive. Therefore, the relationship vegetation indices (NDVI, NDRE) and SPAD values with biomass was evaluated in the Valle del Yaqui, Sonora, Mexico, during the 2024–2025 fall-winter cycle. GreenSeeker® (Trimble), SPAD-502Plus® (Minolta)and CMOS sensor mounted on a DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise® UAV were used, with samplings at 60 and 86 days after sowing (DAS). NDVI obtained with GreenSeeker at 60 DAS showed the highest and most significant correlation with yield (r = 0.465; p < 0.05), while NDRE was significant at 86 DAS
(r = 0.421; p < 0.05). SPAD values were not significantly associated with yield. It is concluded that NDVI (in early stages) and NDRE (in later stages) are useful for predicting forage sunflower biomass in arid regions.

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